HEARTACHES OF BETHLEHEM!!

Genesis 35:19 –So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrata (that is Bethlehem).

Bethlehem was a place of heartaches. It was there that Rachel died and was buried. It was a day when Jacob was brokenhearted. There was a sword through the soul of Rachel and she cried aloud in Bethlehem because she was going to be separated from her husband and two children. In her time of heartache and pain, Rachel named her new born baby ‘Ben-Oni’ which meant ‘son of my sorrow’. This child was son of the sorrow for Rachel, Jacob and Joseph because Rachel was dying. Centuries later, Mary had a little boy in Bethlehem by the name Jesus who was called ‘Man of Sorrows’ by the prophet. Mary went through sorrow because she Mary couldn’t even find a place for her first baby to be born. He was acquainted with sorrow and grief all His years on earth and He lived in the shadow of death that He was going to go through for the sins of human beings. At His birth, Herod killed thousands of children, and their mothers cried aloud for their lost children. The enemy tried to kill Him several times before He reached the cross for which He came. His heart was sorrowful unto death in the garden of Gethsemane. He endured the cross and died with a loud cry. Yes, He was the Man of Sorrows who came to take away the sorrow that we all would have experienced all through eternity. Jacob was not ready to call his son Ben-Oni because of his faith in the Lord who was capable of making his son a ‘son of God’s right hand’ and so he called him Benjamin. The Man of Sorrows, born in Bethlehem as the son of Mary, became the ‘Son of God’s right hand’ as He became victorious over death. By coming to Bethlehem as a baby in the manger, Jesus declares to the world that He came to grip with the reality of heartache, pain, misery, loss and separation.

Dear reader, are you going through heartaches and pain of separation and misery? Are you finding it difficult to overcome your pain and loneliness because of your sense of loss or failure? Today you are invited by the Spirit of God to see the Savior who was born in Bethlehem as the ‘son of sorrow’. He was the true Ben-Oni who came to Bethlehem to take your pain and misery away. He came to Bethlehem to remove your sorrow and replace it with confidence, courage, strength, faith and trust in Him. He shouldered your sorrow and pain and became victorious over your feelings of pain, distress, agony, anguish and despondency. Today there is victory for you in all your difficult situations through Jesus who was born as the ‘son of sorrow’ in Bethlehem. Your Lord is today seated at the right hand of the Father as the victor over all your painful situations and is interceding for you. He is inviting you today to go to Him with your heartaches and misery. If you put your trust Him, He will shoulder all your heartaches for you. His hands will wipe your tears and take away your sorrow and loneliness. He will give you the strength to face your difficult situation and give you the needful rest and peace. He gave that peace to Jacob and made him ‘Prince with God.’ By coming to Bethlehem, He declare to the world that He has come to take away the pains and heartaches of all who are willing to go to Him for victory over all their situations. Today you have the opportunity to hand over all your heartaches to Him and find the much needed victory and rest.

Luke 2:6 –While (Joseph and Mary) were (in Bethlehem), the time came for the baby to be born.

Thought for Today

Jesus, the ‘Ben-Oni’ of Bethlehem, is today the ‘Benjamin’ of Calvary to give us victory over all our heartaches, sorrow, misery and pain.